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Tuesday, 8 August 2017

As our tendency to reach into our pockets for our phones increases, so does the need to develop the mobile apps that are powering our obsession. The thing is, as our mobile usage grows, ripples are created that effect everything they touch. For example, marketers now have to account for mobile SEO when they develop websites and create content, business owners have to make sure that their websites are mobile-friendly and accessible to all users, and the crux of the matter today, mobile app developers are facing an evolving workplace.

The Changing IT Job Landscape

On the face of it, it seems like all is good for developers. After all, more demand for mobile apps means more demand for the people creating the apps, right? Yes and no; yes, there’s more demand for mobile application development, but this isn’t necessarily creating more developer jobs.

When asked on the changing developer landscape, John Carione, Product and Corporate Marketing Leader at QuickBase Inc., said that:

“In 2017, we'll see hiring managers redefine the term developers and developer job roles, and start thinking outside the box to help fill their organizations' development needs. This will be fueled by the continuing shortage of skilled developers, an increase in popularity of tools that allow for the development of software with little to no code and greater familiarity with these tools among job candidates.”

Let’s focus on the last part, the ‘increase in popularity of tools that allow for the development of software with little to no code and greater familiarity with these tools among job candidates.’ These tools fall under no-code/low-code (NCLC) platforms, which are mobile application development platforms that let anyone with minimal coding experience develop apps.

No-Code/Low-Code

These NCLC platforms are, in turn, giving rise to a new class of developers, a class exemplified by the ‘citizen developer.’ These developers are assisted by tools that make the mobile application development process somewhat less technical and more visual. Think of it as a drag and drop or lego building process in which the developer builds up UI (user interface) components to complete the application.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

source: http://konwersatorium1-ms-pjwstk.blogspot.com

Similar to no-code/low-code’s impact, artificial intelligence is also making waves in the IT job landscape. Take DeepCoder, for instance. Researchers at the University of Cambridge and Microsoft teamed up to create a system called DeepCoder that uses machine learning and program synthesis to write its own code. Essentially, DeepCoder uses lines of code from existing software to create brand new programs.

So far DeepCoder can only write a couple of lines of code, but the implication for the future is that anyone can code their own programs by giving DeepCoder an outline of what they want, and then letting it do all the heavy-lifting.

The Future

Talk of NCLC and AI makes it seem like developers have an expiration date. This is not so. Coding, of course, is still vital, but now we have tools that are opening the doors to people with little or no formal training to do what previously only developers could do.
What is actually happening is an amalgamation in which the less coding-intensive work is done by developers with less experience, and the more intensive and challenging projects are handled by those that can take them on. In a similar vein, so called citizen developers can start the project and build its foundation, and then hand the reins to higher-level developers.

Final Thoughts

With the changing IT job landscape, seasoned and citizen developers are benefiting with tools that are making their jobs easier, and consumers are benefiting from an influx of new mobile apps. More than more apps, these automation and AI tools are opening the avenue for better apps that place the focus on UI.